May 1, 2007 7:30 a.m.

All the surgical procedures were to begin at 7:30 a.m. He was back in the O.R. and by 8:30 they called the waiting area to let us know they had him asleep. 9:30 came and our surgeon came out to see us. My heart stopped. He let us know that they could not get an arterial line in his arm. This line was how they would monitor his vital signs through the procedures. The anesthesiologist wanted good readings, and they were not having any luck with his little arm. He informed us they might have to use the artery in his groin. They generally avoided that due to blood clots. They would let us know something in an hour. During this time, some close friends of our arrived and surprised us. They came all that way to wait with us through the surgery. Friends I believe God gave us for just this time. Their daughter was born with craniosynostosis just seven years before. We had gone to college together and were reunited at the church we attended one evening three years earlier. Cullan had not even been born at this time. They shared their story of what they had experienced with their daughter the night we "bumped" into each other. Little did we know how God would use them in our lives down the road....